Chapter 3 - The Ghost in the Boardroom
Richard stared at Diane Foster as if she were an executioner. "What are you doing here, Diane? The divorce is over. The papers are signed. Evelyn got what she wanted—her name back. Get out of my building."
"It's not your building anymore, Richard," Diane said smoothly, gesturing for one of her associates to hand over a stack of documents. "This is a formal notification of a hostile takeover bid and an immediate injunction."
"Hostile takeover?" Richard laughed, a manic, desperate sound. "You can't do a hostile takeover of a private company! I own fifty-one percent of the voting shares!"
"You did," Diane agreed. "Until three hours ago."
She pulled out a document with a gold seal.
"Twenty years ago, when you took that eighty-million-dollar loan from Aegis Holdings, you signed a standard convertible debt agreement. You were so eager to get the money—and so arrogant that you didn't read the fine print—that you agreed to a clause stating that in the event of a personal 'moral turpitude' event or a material change in marital status that threatened the company's financial viability, the debt could be converted into equity at the lender's sole discretion."
Richard’s breath hitched. "No... no, that's not possible. I would have noticed that. My lawyers—"
"Your lawyers were paid by us, Richard," Diane said, her voice dropping to an icy whisper. "Who do you think recommended your corporate counsel back then? Evelyn did. The debt has been converted. Carter Global now owns fifty-two percent of Hayes Enterprises' common stock. And as the majority shareholder, Ms. Evelyn Carter has called an emergency shareholder meeting. Effective immediately."
Margaret Hayes gripped the back of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white. "This is a conspiracy! We will fight this in court! We will drag her name through the mud!"
"Go ahead," Diane said, unfazed. "But while you do that, you might want to look at this."
She slid a manila folder toward Lauren.
Lauren frowned, her hand trembling as she opened it. As she read the first page, the color drained from her face even faster than it had from Richard's earlier.
"What is that?" Richard demanded, snatching the papers from her hand.
It was a comprehensive background report.
"It seems," Diane said, looking at Lauren with a look of pure, clinical amusement, "that Lauren’s pregnancy isn't quite the miracle you thought it was, Richard."
Richard’s eyes scanned the medical documents, the private investigator photos, and the bank statements.
"Lauren... what is this?" Richard asked, his voice dangerously low. "Who is... Marcus?"
He looked up at his CFO, Marcus Vance.
Marcus didn't look surprised. He slowly closed his laptop and stood up, smoothing his tie.
"I'm sorry, Richard," Marcus said, his voice entirely devoid of remorse. "But did you really think a twenty-eight-year-old model fell in love with a fifty-year-old man for his sparkling personality? You were ignoring your company, ignoring your wife, and spending all your time bragging. It was incredibly easy to redirect some of your assets into a private account. And Lauren was... a very cooperative partner."
"You..." Richard took a step toward Marcus, his fists clenched, but the federal marshals immediately stepped in front of him.
"And as for the baby," Diane added, "the prenatal DNA test, which Evelyn quietly commissioned last month using discarded samples from your clinic visits, proves that the child is not yours, Richard. It's Marcus’s."
Lauren burst into tears, covering her face. "Richard, I'm sorry! I was scared! He said you were going bankrupt anyway! He said Evelyn was going to take everything!"
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Margaret Hayes let out a choked gasp and collapsed back into her chair, clutching her chest. "My grandson... my heir... a fraud?"
"It seems," Diane said, picking up her briefcase, "that the only genuine thing in this family was the woman you just threw away. The board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at nine. I suggest you dress warmly, Richard. The heat in this building is being turned off tonight."
